FALL IS THE BEST AND YOU KNOW IT.

Written by . Posted on September 25 | 11. Filed under AMERICANA, FASHION, SHOPPING. 1 Comment.


Ralph Lauren Rugby Jemime Leather Jacket $599.99

We love the Jemime jackets restrained cool, achieved by basing it off a too-cool vintage prototype that we updated in a slim fit from burnished, distressed leather for an effortless rugged-sexy vibe. Straight point collar. Off-center zip front. Long sleeves with covered snap cuffs. Angled welt pocket at the left chest and each hip. Slide buckle tabs at the back waist for a custom fit. Rounded front hem falls longer than the straight back hem. 100% leather. Lining: 100% cotton. Sleeve lining: 100% cupro. Dry clean. Imported.


via Jemime Leather Jacket - Womens Sale See All from Rugby Ralph Lauren.

AEO DESERT BOOT $60

via AEO DESERT BOOT.

SEPTEMBER 11th 2011

Written by . Posted on September 09 | 11. Filed under AMERICANA, PERSONAL. Tagged , . No comments.

Do you listen to Storycorps? I’m a big fan. Acute readers will know I listen exclusively to NPR, and I cry pretty often listening to the radio. Sometimes happy crying, sometimes sad. This week, it’s been a lot of sad. NPR has been doing a tribute to 9/11 survivors and the memory of the murdered victims, and it’s painfully heartbreaking. Extremely, painfully, heartbreaking.

I hope you’ll take some time to listen to the Storycorps stories of 9/11. That horrific anniversary is closing in on us, this time marking 10 years—but think of this Buddhist expression: Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned. It’s hard not to be so mad, so upset, when I think of all the innocent lives lost that day, but I am trying to fill my heart with love for those who were killed, and those who survived, as opposed to hate for the terrorists. Don’t waste your time with animosity. If you’re reading this, you’re a survivor. Be grateful for that, and use it to create peace in the world—in any capacity.

PHOTO BY DEBORAH COLTON of COLTON & FARB GALLERY

ABOVE is a photo of a new billboard I saw just this morning on the way to work. It’s just before the Smith St. exit on 1-10 heading east, and read:

IMAGINE PEACE.
love, yoko
2011

As a means to memorialize those killed, I’ve also been reading CNN/Legacy.com’s September 11th tributes, some of the stories I’ll highlight for you include: Daniel and Ron and their son, David; victims of United Airlines Flight #175, were a family who planned to take an early flight home, and this of Lisa and Samantha, sisters who both worked for the largest company in the World Trade Center.

Events Honoring 9/11

Do you plan on doing anything to commemorate the day?

GLAZED BRICK

Written by . Posted on September 07 | 11. Filed under RENOVATION. No comments.

For our impending renovation, I’ve been researching glazed brick but have only turned over manufacturers of glazed bricks, and haven’t found much on glazing existing brick. Our house was build in 1952 and has a low roof with a half-brick/half-vertical-plank-siding facade; it’s maroon. Maroon is most definitely not our color. I want to paint the existing siding a dark grey, suggesting army green but more asphalty in color, then glaze the brick in a high gloss black or darker tint of the siding color.

My problem: how the heck do you glaze brick? Back in art class, anytime we painted porcelain or ceramics we’d have to put the object post-paint in the kiln so it would bake the glossy glaze, and once removed you had a nice, shiny surface. So I’m curious, can I get something similar, apply it to the bricks, and use a heat gun to mimic the properties of the kiln? I think I could probably use a brick paint, then apply some kind of high gloss varnish over it, but I don’t want the hot Texas heat to damage the finish and cause it to easily chip off, so I’m not sure that’s the way to go. Another problem we may run into is the grout: will we have to paint that as well, or just regrout so it fills the lines flush to the brick?

Suggestions?

The best resources I’ve found are: Masonry Magazine: Ceramic Glazed Masonry / Ceramic Glazed Masonry Institute / and the best yet is Elgin Butler: Manufacturers of Glazed Bricks. Below are photos from Elgin Butler’s gallery showing the handsome effect glazed brick gives to exteriors.

Royal Blue Glazed Masonry

NYC Hotels Black Glaze

Terra Cotta Glazed Masonry

Chicago's Carbide & Carbon Building

Navy Glaze on a School

More Shiny Navy Glazed Brick

Navy and Yellow Glazes

Rice University

Apparently Elgin Butler's worked on my old high school, too.

Room 101 may have been Mrs. Phelan's honors English class, or it could have been Spanish 3. I'm not even sure it's either one.

Shiny Red Glazed Brick

CLASSIC FILM GIFS

Written by . Posted on September 02 | 11. Filed under FUN STUFF. No comments.

Aren’t these the best .gif’s in all the land?

4 personal favorite films VIA 15 Classic and horror Cinematic Gifs | Awwwards.

TAKE SHELTER AND THE WAVES WILL WASH IT ALL AWAY

Written by . Posted on September 02 | 11. Filed under ETC., MUSIC. Tagged , . 1 Comment.

TAKE SHELTER comes out September 30th/11, directed by Jeff Nichols, it’s the story of a man who “questions what’s real and what’s only in the mind.” Sounds a lot like what I question on a frickin’ daily basis. More from Daily Candy—“Haunted by premonitions of an apocalyptic storm worse than The Nothing coming to town, pragmatic Curtis abandons all domestic responsibility to build an underground haven that will keep his wife and deaf daughter safe from said Nothing. Just one problem: No one else sees the flocks of birds, black cumulonimbus, or tornadoes. Maybe his feared Nothing is just that — until it’s not.”

It’s like: Donnie Darko with A Beautiful Mind.

I’m excited to see it because, if like me you’re a fan of Boardwalk Empire, you’ll recognize Michael Shannon who plays Nelson Van Alden, the Federal Prohibition Agent with a religious masochism who’s out to stop Nucky’s illegal booze-trade. This may or may not be the leading factor in my interest in the film. And also to see rising star Jessica Chastain, from the summer’s Tree of Life and The Help. 

VIA Take Shelter - Movie Trailers - iTunes.

AND THE WAVES WILL WASH IT ALL AWAY is the newest mix by Brian Gossett, one of my No.1 sources for new artist discovery. I’m just now downloading it, but Brian’s mixes are always free, and more importantly always damn good—so start your labor day weekend off by getting some new tracks to enjoy… maybe poolside with a southside? Oh, you need the recipe for a Southside? Perfect now that we’re talking about prohibition and gangsters, the Southside is made with Gin (but of course) and simple syrup to disguise the bootlegger liquor’s bad taste. It was created in the early 1920s on the south side of Chicago, which was divided into territories by Irish mobs, the north side mob made a drink with gin and gingerale, while the south side mob made it with gin and simple syrups—giving the name Southside. We (Steven, Marc and I) were introduced to the Southside by Alex at Anvil when we needed a good drink for our 4th of July party, and now it’s one of my favorite summer drinks. I like to think of it as a mojito for badasses.

S O U T H S I D E  R E C I P E
2 oz gin
1 oz simple syrup
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
3 - 4 oz soda water
2 mint sprigs
2 pieces limes

Muddle one sprig of mint with the lime pieces, lime juice, and simple syrup in the bottom of a bar glass. Add gin and shake well. Pour into a goblet over crushed ice and stir until the outer-glass frosts. Top with soda water, garnish with remaining sprig of mint, and serve.

RECIPE VIA: DRINKS MIXER // I’ll check when I get home if this varies from the Anvil recipe.

YOU CAN RESTORE MY HARDWARE ANY DAY.

Written by . Posted on August 29 | 11. Filed under INTERIORS + DECOR. No comments.

Umm-hmm. Double entendres, anyone? The super gigantic fall Restoration Hardware catalog/magazine-like-publication is packed with the most new products I’ve seen from them, ever. Talking new sofas, chairs, lighting, a larger range of paint colors. Damn. I dog-eared so many pages, our RH card definitely won’t be able to fulfill many of my wishes, but dang this is good. Here are some of my favorites.

LOW TUFTED SOFA

TOLEDO STOOLS / F YES

MOTORCITY WHISKEY LEATHER CHAIR / VINTAGE EYE CHARTS

BRUNO LEATHER CHAIRS

REGENCY SOFA / C. 1930 INDUSTRIAL PULLEY SCONCE

HOPPER BUCKET CHAIRS

TOLEDO STOOLS

The 1930s Toledo Stool is definitely a part of our kitchen remodel’s design plan. But choosing between black and army green just might kill me.

AND YOU WILL BE PLEASED WITH THEM

Written by . Posted on August 19 | 11. Filed under AMERICANA, TYPE + FONTS. No comments.

 

“These Cards Are Beautiful, and You Will Be Pleased with Them.” That’s some good, old-fashioned, honest-as-hell advertising.

 

VIA DUKE’S COLLECTION FOR THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: .

NOTRUF DEUTSCHLAND // GET IN THE SACK

Written by . Posted on August 18 | 11. Filed under FUN STUFF. No comments.

When you have a spare few minutes, visit the site NOTRUF DEUTSCHLAND. It’s sort of like the Wilderness Downtown project by Arcade Fire. Make sure you facebook connect. It’s worth it. Then when you’re done, you can come back here to watch my video. But watch your own video FIRST!

Is that tattoo badass, or what?

via FWA

LOUISE FILI FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE

Written by . Posted on August 16 | 11. Filed under ART + DESIGN, HAND LETTERING + SIGN PAINTERS. 3 Comments.

I seriously just lost a really long post about stamps. Until I regain composure and can type this up again, here is what I wanted to show you. It’s a Louise Fili stamp for 2012! { I just wrote like 4 paragraphs on this }

Is there a way to undo copying something so as to return to the thing you last copied? I had a feeling I was about to lose it so I copied the entire post’s content, but then I copied something else not even thinking about it. Dumb.

SPEXY THING

Written by . Posted on August 15 | 11. Filed under FASHION, SHOPPING. Tagged . 2 Comments.

If it weren’t for Joanna Angelface Goddard, I would seriously not know about like, say 50% of the things I know about. A while back she’d recommended the affordably stylish prescription glasses site Spex Club—I’d looked around but the virtual try-on wasn’t working so I gave up. They’re all $88. Prescription included. That’s f’ing cheap, people! That means I can finally—not splurge—but acquire some cat-eye frames to match my cat eyes. So I got the Spex Payton in Tortoise. I’d been drooling over the Elizabeth and James Centinela cat-eyes (that I discovered via Olsens Anonymous) but I was weary of how much it would cost to retrofit prescrip lenses in a pair of already $180 glasses. Thank heaven for Angelface. J.A.G.. Jo. And Spex Club. And while I’m full of gratitude I’ll also thank google and Refinery 29 for offering readers $29 off a pair of $88 glasses with the code R29SPEX. I’ll share a photo upon their arrival.

These are the ones I liked, but didn’t get, the Elizabeth and James Centinela:

…and if my new glasses were a font, they’d be Rocket by Font Bureau, $40.